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Count Theodosius, born in Hispania to a military family, he rose through the ranks and accomplished remarkable things lost in the mists of time. When he emerges into the spotlight he is the Emperor Valentinian's fixer, who recovers Britannia, settles the Rhine, and recovers Africa for the Empire without breaking a sweat, with humility and grace. But no good deed ever goes unpunished, and so it is with Theodosius, but that cannot prevent him from founding one of Rome's great dynasties.
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Valentinian, son of the Rope Man, emerged from dad's shadow, paid his dues in the army, and was in the right place at the right time when Julian's short-lived successor Jovian died somewhere outside Ancyra. Rising to the purple with his brother Valens (Adrianople anyone?) by his side, Valentinian would go on to rule from the west, holding the Rhine, recovering Britannia, and quashing rebelling in Africaa. He would be the last truly dominant Roman Emperor to rule the West, with the help of two savage she-bears, but was he a hero?
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Julian, nephew of Constantine the Great, cousin of Constantius the Murderous, aspiring philosopher, Emperor almost against his will, unfortunate soul! He would be the last pagan emperor of Rome, though the Empire would last for another 1100 years, trying in vain to turn back to the clock to a simpler world that no longer existed.
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Join us for our long awaited first Q&A episode, where we take on listener questions and do our level best to answer! From "why did Marc Antony fall in love with Cleopatra" to "did Livia kill Augustus" and "which Roman Emperor would you want to have a beer with"? This was the most fun we've had on an episode for some time, thanks to all of you! (We just republished this one with some minor fixes).
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Finally in possession of the supreme power, after having eliminated all rivals and fully dismantling Diocletian's Tetrarchy, what will Constantine do? Will he use his power for good? What will he do with the Christians now that he has elevated their faith above all others? And what really happened to Crispus?
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Join Constantine as he crossed the Alps and marches on Rome, to meet his rival Augustus, Maxentius (son of Maximian the Mischievous) at the fabled Milvian Bridge. Constantine is intent on unwinding Diocletian's project, the Frankenstein-ish Tetrarchy, and consolidating power in his hands. He will use his considerable wiles, and the surging Christian sect, to accomplish his audacious objectives.
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Constantine assumes his father's mantle in Eboracum when know one authorized him to do so. But with the support of the troops and an unyielding sense of destiny and belief in his own abilities, he begins to gather power, and legitimacy in Britannia, Gaul and Hispania as the various rulers of the Italy and the East squabble among themselves. We said goodbye to the Old Guard, Diocletian, Maximian and Galerius now, as the Roman Empire primes itself for the most explosive Roman Civil War in centuries between Constantine, Maxentius, Licinius and Maximinus. Who will come out on top?
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YAY - WE ARE BACK FROM OUR SUMMER BREAK, just in time to meet a young boy named Constantine, yet another of Illyrian stock, born to Helena the barmaid and Constantius, member of the Imperial bodyguard, steps into the light. Dad is making all of the right moves and finds himself rising fast in Diocletian's administration, from Praetorian Prefect, to Caesar, and finally to Augustus. But some people - especially the Emperor Galerius - are threatened by Constantius' success, and worry (rightly) that the son Constantine will follow in dad's footsteps, and upset their well laid plans for domination. Can Constantine survive the intrigue against him?
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To our amazing listeners! After one full year of research, writing, recording and releasing one episode a week, we are going to take a little vacation for the month of August 2024 (we hope you guys are too!) and we will be back on September 1st, with batteries recharged, ready to dive into Constantine the Great! Happy summer everyone....
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Join Diocletian as he ups the ante, and continues his bold experimentation to reform the Imperial system to deal with the new world of threats that have overwhelmed Rome for the last one hundred years. But will this new system, that we know as the Tetrarchy, survive the biggest threat of all, human ambition?
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Diocles, son of a slave. WHAT?? Say that again. Diocles, who assumed the regnal name of Diocletian, was the first Roman Emperor to be born the son of a former slave. He would rise from dirt to the pinnacle of Roman power, yet another of the Illyrian cabal, hellbent on restoring Rome to her former glory. But rather than focusing simply on military brilliance to accomplish that objective, like his immediate (really all) predecessors had, Diocletian decides to experiment with the hallowed structure of the Roman imperial system to see if he can build a better, more sustainable, mousetrap.
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Probus, Aurelian's prodigy and friend, rose to the purple shortly after Aurelian's murder just like his mentor had, through sheer grit and merit. In five short years he pursued Aurelian's policies brilliantly, with a deftness of touch perhaps that Aurelian lacked. He was everywhere at once, East and West, North and South, campaigning north of the Rhine like Germanicus and Drusus, showing the Persians that Rome was no longer afraid, in short, helping to reinforce Aurelian's miracle. To friend and foe alike, lest there be any doubt, thanks to Probus all knew - ROME WAS BACK.
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Emperor Claudius Gothicus is dead. Aurelian is dashing around Thrace, chasing a Goth horde, while Claudius' weakling brother Quintillus is elevated to the purple. Rome is still broken in three, with the Gallic Empire going strong in Gaul, Britannia and Germania. While the East is increasingly independent, and anti-Roman, under Odaenathus' widow Zenobia. What Aurelian accomplishes next is difficult to fathom, and will bestow upon him the most extraordinary and well deserved of honorary title: RESTITUTOR ORBIS.
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Aurelian. Farm boy. Born in the dirt somewhere near Sirmium, son of a soldier, and a priestess of Sol Invictus. He entered the army at the very bottom and fought his way to the top of the military hierarchy, the old fashioned way - he earned every bit of it. By the time Claudius Gothicus died, he was the number two to the emperor, the general in charge of the entire army. But this was a reduced Empire, split in three, overrun by barbarian enemies on the frontiers, and devastated by the Plague. What is Rome in 270AD? And who is Aurelian? Does any of it matter when the world as we know it no longer exists?
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In the heart of darkness that was the Crisis of the Third Century, Postumus was one of those super talented generals cherry picked by the supreme talent scout that was the Emperor Gallienus. A Roman through and through, as Juthungi and Frank warriors poured across the Rhine, Postumus rode a wave of discontent, was declared emperor of a new world that would be known as the Gallic Empire, killed Gallienus' son, and would build a new regime dedicated to holding the line on the Rhine frontier. Villain or hero? Emperor or usurper? Tune in to Episode 44 to find out....
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Who could have possibly imagined, that when Rome's fortunes hit their nadir, when the West had fallen away (to be ruled by the new Gallic Emperor Postumus) and the East crumbled under Shapur's relentless onslaught, it would not be a Roman Emperor, or a Roman General that saved Rome's eastern provinces from annihilation, but it would be a young guy born in the desert oasis town known as Palmyra that would rescue Rome. Odaenathus rose from obscurity in an obscure place - Palmyra - last stop on the Silk Road, a watering hole in the Syrian desert. And through sheer force of will and brilliant military and political tactics, he would become Rome's indispensable man in the heart of the storm known as the Crisis of the Third Century.
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Poor Gallienus, son of poor Emperor Valerian, if you had existed in an earlier era, who knows what might have come of you? As it was, you had the bad luck of being born in the heart of the disastrous 3rd century, when the machine that was Rome careened down the tracks, no one at the helm, brakes shot, with the wheels coming off. With the Rhine and Danube frontiers overwhelmed by a relentless barbarian tide, the new Sassanid Empire in the East under vigorous Shapur I clawing back ancient Persian lands, and an endless line of internal usurpers aiming for the throne, one can't help but feel sympathy for Gallienus - but does he belong in the hall of heroes if the world nearly ended on his watch?
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Septimius Severus, Rome's first African emperor. Born in Leptis Magna, he ended the civil war that erupted following Commodus' death during the Year of the Five Emperors, restoring order to the Empire, cowing the Senate, strengthening the borders, and ushering in a new era of warrior-emperors just in time for the Crisis of the Third Century that would shortly bring Rome to her knees. Rome wouldn't look this good again for A LONG TIME. Pretty impressive resume, except for the whole dying-and-leaving-the-Empire-to-Caracalla bit.
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Lucius Artorius Castus, centurion of the Roman legions, Primus Pilus under Rome's Philosopher-Emperor Marcus Aurelius himself in the Legio V Macedonica. This man went wherever the Empire needed him - from the scorching deserts of Syria to the frigid Danube at Belgrade and Carnuntum he served with distinction. But his true star turn came when he was sent with the Sarmatian knights to serve on the Wall in Britannia, where his valor, bravery and remarkable deeds planted the seeds (we believe) of the legend that we know as KING ARTHUR!
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Marcus Aurelius, the gentle philosopher who lived through the inconceivable, heart-wrenching loss of ten children. Heir to Antoninus Pius against his will, he became emperor of 1/3 of the known world just as the Pax Romana began to fracture. True to his stoic core, Marcus set aside personal wants and rose to the occasion, transforming himself from the first philosopher-emperor into the first warrior-emperor who spend his final 10 years camped on the Danube, fighting the barbarian wave that would eventually overwhelm the West.
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